The Healing Sunshine (一厘米的阳光)

Chapter 1 - The Very Beginning of the Beginning

That day, she was flusteredly spinning about [paternal] Grandfather's study.

When she woke up that morning, she had felt that her throat was sore and her head was dizzy. She was already accustomed to the fact that, day in and day out, there was no one at home during the day. This was especially so during the winter and summer breaks, when she was even more so used to relying on herself to solve any problems.

The problem now was, she felt she was sick and needed to take some medicine.

But it had been a long time since she had last been sick, and she had already forgotten where the medicine chest was.<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. Translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, the translation has been taken without consent of the translator.

After rummaging through seven or eight drawers, she finally found the box containing the medicine.

Two tablets of anti-inflammatory medicine, two tablets of cold medicine... Should she take a bezoar detox tablet, too? It seemed, last year when she had a fever, Mama had given one to her to take. Okay, then, she'd have one tablet of those, too.

From the flat foil packages, she dug out each pill, one at a time. After she had poured herself some water, she heard the doorbell.<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. Translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, the translation has been taken without consent of the translator.

Setting the medications onto a napkin, she ran up to the front door and, stretching up on her tiptoes, peered out the peephole.

The midsummer sun pierced through the glass and spilled into every corner of the corridor, practically leaving no shadows behind. And it was in this glaring sunshine that she saw Jì Chengyang.

It was only later that he told her this was actually their second meeting.

But right then, to her, he was simply a stranger whom she had never seen before. Through the peephole, she saw a young, tall and slender man whose age would make him like a big brother to her. At this moment, his head was bowed as he smoked a cigarette. He did not look like those students of Grandfather who all wore military uniforms. He was garbed only in black, knee-length athletic shorts and a white, short-sleeved t-shirt...

Because he was looking downward, his short locks fell somewhat dishevelled over his forehead and concealed his eyes.

She did not utter a sound. As if watching a slow motion scene in a movie, she saw him, with one hand propped against the snow-white walls, press the cigarette butt that he held in his other hand onto the metal garbage receptacle in the corridor. The most amusing part was, after he stubbed it out, he even deliberately used the remaining cigarette butt in his hand to wipe away that little gray spot before tossing the butt into the receptacle from the side.

Then, he tilted his head upwards. A pair of lucid, black eyes looked in her direction. Seemingly because no sound could be heard from inside of the door, his brows creased together slightly.

And then, the doorbell rang again.<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. Translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, the translation has been taken without consent of the translator.

She finally remembered that she had come to open the door. Through the door, she queried, "May I ask who you are?"

For this military compound, in order to get into the military families and dependents' residence area, one would have to pass through at least two sets of soldiers on guard, and this particular building was also secured by password. Therefore, no outsiders at all would be able to get in. The military dependents' residence area consisted entirely of four-storey buildings with one household per floor, and everyone could not be any more familiar with one another. But this person here was very much a stranger to her. He should be a big brother from one of the other families who was studying in a school elsewhere?